Full moon tides push at the Chesapeake mouth as fall run builds up north

What's next

Full moon tides mean bigger swings than average into early next week, and the morning high near 9:23 a.m. should be the better window to fish moving water before it turns for the 3:43 p.m. low. The nor'easter pushing into the mid-Atlantic, per The Fisherman's regional forecast, likely brings a stretch of wind and chop; plan trips around the front rather than through it.

Coastwide, the season is running ahead of the Chesapeake. Saltwater Edge notes Rhode Island's striper bite is still sluggish and waiting on the first hard cold snap, while Long Island is already stacked with bluefish, fluke and weakfish per The Fisherman. As Chesapeake mouth water continues cooling from today's low-70s reading, that same southbound push typically arrives here over the following weeks.

Context

Low-70s water at the Chesapeake mouth in late September is normal for the shift out of summer patterns and into the fall migration window that builds through October and November in this region. The full moon's stronger tidal exchange is a routine seasonal feature now, not an anomaly. Coastwide, this week's nor'easter and the earlier fall push farther north both point to a season running on schedule.